Battle of Wathlingen

The Battle of Wathlingen (12 March 1757) was a minor battle of the Seven Years' War that took place in the province of Lower Saxony, Germany between the armies of Prussia and France. The Prussian general Michael von Strelitz and an army of 11,500 Prussian troops defeated the French Duc de Bourbon's army of 14,200 troops in a defensive battle.

Background
In 1757, the war went badly for Prussia, who were defeated in their attempts to capture Prague and at the Battle of Kolin. But before these events, an unknown victory helped to remove the prospect of total disaster. With the war going poorly in their colonies in Canada and the Ohio Valley, the Kingdom of France decided to concentrate their war effort in Europe to finish off Prussia's threat before engaging Great Britain again in the Americas. Duke Bourbon created an army of 14,200 French troops and launched an invasion of Lower Saxony, a Prussian province. In response, General Michael von Strelitz and 11,500 Prussian troops marched into Lower Saxony to defend Berlin from the possibility of attack, and battle was joined at Wathlingen.

Battle
The Prussian army was made up of experienced line infantry, Prussian Jaegers, and grenadiers as the main bulk of the army, with cuirassiers as the cavalry on both flanks and with four artillery batteries. The French army was primarily made up of line infantry, with some artillery and cavalry. Bourbon's army was newly-formed, and its members were mainly young recruits in the army. The Prussian army held off the French army with musketry and cannon fire, and Bourbon was killed in cavalry combat with the Prussian cavalry. The Prussians held off the French attacks after forming defensive positions, and in the end, Prussian cavalry hunted down the remnants of the French regiments. In the end, 2,570 Prussians and 11,760 French were lost in battle, and the Prussians destroyed the French army.